When Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer on July 29th, 1981, people in the United Kingdom and across the world, rejoiced for what they saw as a fairy-tale marriage. The Prince had finally found his Princess and they would live happily ever after, or so everyone hoped!

The truth about the marriage that followed was far from being a fairy-tale.

Following the birth of two sons; William – heir to the throne, in July 1982 and Harry in September 1984, the marriage fell apart. Diana would later say that they were “the closest we’ve ever, ever been and ever will be,” in the lead up to Harry’s birth but that on discovering the child was another son, Charles, who desperately wanted a baby girl, all but deserted her. As Diana would later tell biographer Andrew Morton “Charles always wanted a girl. Harry was a boy. His first comment was, ‘Oh God, it’s a boy.’ His second: ‘And he’s even got red hair.’” Diana claimed that the night Harry was born, while she was still recuperating in hospital, Charles chose to attend the theatre with his “friend” Camilla Parker-Bowles. This was a grave disappointment to her and signalled the beginning of the end of their marriage.

Introverted, sensitive, shy and polite… not generally words you would associate with a rock star, yet this is just how people described Kurt Cobain after meeting him. Growing up in Aberdeen, a suburb of Seattle in the US, the son of Wendy and Donald Cobain, Kurt was a happy-go-lucky and loving child with an artistic streak. His creative talents extended from drawing his favourite Disney cartoon characters to playing musical instruments. From the age of just two he was playing the piano and singing songs to entertain his family.

In 1987, Kurt started a band with his school friend Krist Novoselic and after experimenting with a series of names, the band settled on Nirvana, which Kurt said was “… a name that was kind of beautiful or nice and pretty instead of a mean, raunchy punk name like the Angry Samoans.” Following a succession of drummers, Nirvana’s line-up was completed with the arrival of Dave Grohl in 1990. They played relatively local gigs on the west coast of America, and quickly established themselves on Seattle’s radical grunge scene.

When the Beatles began filming A Hard Day’s Night on March 2nd, 1964 they had just returned from their first tour of America and ‘Beatlemania’ had well and truly gripped the world. An audience of over 70 million had tuned in to their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and they topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Although filmed in just six weeks, the movie captured Beatlemania at its most frenzied but also at its happiest.

Director Richard Lester filmed in a semi-documentary style using handheld cameras to capture the energy of the action. In case the Beatles couldn’t act when they arrived to set, the script, written by Alun Owen, was kept simple and was constructed to ensure that each of the Beatles spoke in short sentences. Once filming began and it became apparent that the boys were naturals in front of the camera, new material was written to demonstrate the individuality of each Beatle. As a result, a lot of their lines feel improvised, although little was. Paul later said, “Alun hung around with us and was careful to try and put words in our mouths… the film manages to capture our characters quite well, so I thought he did a very good script.”

This week we’ve decided to catch up with our Jewellery designer Nora to get an insight into her job here at Newbridge Silverware.

When and how did you join the team here at Newbridge Silverware?

Newbridge first appeared on my radar in 2013. At the time, I was a student at NCAD completing my degree in jewellery design. I had just participated in the jewellery design competition that was organised for the students. The competition gave us the opportunity to have our creations transformed into bespoke collections by Newbridge Silverware. My work impressed the team here so much that just a short time later I found myself my dream internship here. I loved every minute of it! So much so, that five years later and here I am as a permanent jewellery designer.

What is a typical day like for you in Newbridge Silverware?

Each day is different here and that is something that I really love about my job. I could be working on a lot of different projects at the same time, such as bringing my ideas to life by sketching my designs and researching the latest jewellery trends. I spend a lot of my time on the manufacturing facility, checking on the progress of my latest designs with the production team. The support and expertise of the manufacturing team contributes so much to the final outcome. Continue Reading

On Saturday May 19th, 2018 Megan Markle will walk down the aisle of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle to marry Prince Harry. Speculation is rife about what dress style she will wear and who the designer will be and with that in mind, it seems fitting to look back on the most famous of all the British royal weddings and the most famous wedding dress of all time.

In late 1980, Vogue Magazine placed a call to fashion designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel at their salon in Mayfair asking if they had a suitable outfit for a photoshoot they were doing on upcoming beauties. The pair had graduated from the Royal College of Art just 3 years previously but were making a name for themselves in the fashion industry. Vogue refused to say who the outfit was for but specified that it must have a high neck and be very romantic. Hanging in the Emanuels’ salon was a chiffon blouse which had been created for another client, but they decided it would be ideal and sent it to Vogue.

It was later that they learned that the subject of the photoshoot was Lady Diana Spencer. Elizabeth Emanuel recalled in her book, A Dress for Diana, “The fashion team (from Vogue) had assembled a large collection of clothes from several designers for her to try… When she saw our blouse on the rack she fell in love with it, asked who made it and was directed to us.”

This was to be a very fortuitous moment in the lives of both Diana and the Emanuels and was the start of a fruitful relationship. Shortly after the Vogue photoshoot, the engagement of Prince Charles and Lady Diana was announced and the photo of her, in the Emanuels’ blouse, taken by Lord Snowdon was used as the official engagement photograph.

If you have decided to make this summer extra special by saying I do, the countdown is on! We know that planning a wedding can be overwhelming, especially as the big day looms and your Pinterest boards multiply… so we’ve put together a Wedding Inspiration Guide to help you with those little details that make all the difference.

Wedding Favours

Wedding favours are not an essential part of a wedding, but they are becoming increasingly popular with couples who are using them to add a touch of personality to the day, giving gifts that reflect themselves as a couple. Favours don’t have to be a big expense. They can be bought, grown, baked, or handmade with love. Favours can be as simple as miniature chocolates (and lets face it, who doesn’t love chocolate?) or personalised treat bags. Some couples are making the extra effort in 2018, offering their guests welcome bags filled with mini essentials such as sun-cream, umbrellas and water. Including a handwritten note or a photo is a thoughtful keepsake that will make your gift a true original.

The relationship between Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy was profound at a professional and a personal level. They collaborated professionally on numerous occasions throughout their careers, but they also developed a deep and meaningful friendship which lasted until her untimely death in 1993.

It was the director Billy Wilder who sent Audrey to Paris in 1953 to find authentic Parisian designs to wear in his new movie Sabrina. At the time, she was twenty-three years old and on the cusp of super stardom – Givenchy, was a young and exciting fashion designer having recently opened the House de Givenchy on February 2, 1952. Audrey was already a fan of his work using some of her earnings from Roman Holiday to buy a Givenchy coat.

Although Audrey was becoming a household name in the US, Roman Holiday had yet to be released in France, so when they met, Givenchy hadn’t heard of her before and assumed he was meeting with the legendary actress Katherine Hepburn. However, he was instantly taken with Audrey when she arrived at his door. Givenchy was unavailable to design new clothes for Sabrina but, undeterred, Audrey asked if she could look through his collection. Having tried on some of the garments it became apparent that Audrey was the perfect model for Givenchy’s designs – straight off the rack! The pair went to dinner that night and their friendship was sealed as they learned they both had a penchant for discipline, dedication and loyalty. Audrey left Paris with three Givenchy designs which she wore in Sabrina.

At the Academy Awards in 1955, Sabrina was nominated for six awards but won only one for Best Costume Design! The award went to Edith Head, the director of Paramount’s wardrobe department. Gracious as ever, Givenchy did not get angry or upset that he did not receive credit, however, Audrey was mortified and swore to make it up to him. Continue Reading